Chapter 20, part 1
He liked being back on Earth, even if that came with the baggage of being confined in a low security military prison; it was far better than the near total isolation he had been through back on Mars’s and Earth’s orbits. The routine was easy to get into while the open air did wonders for his mood; the frequent visits from his family were the best part however and he enjoyed those immensely. In fact they were probably the reason as to why he had been in such a good mood for the first time after his ‘arrest’. He had a visitor again but this time it wasn’t his wife or any other family member; as a matter of fact he knew that the records would later show that he had no visitors that day.
“Sir!” Captain Asteios said as he stood at attention next to the bench that his visitor was sitting.
“The only reason I tolerate this saluting farce of yours in these circumstances is that I know how much you respect military protocol captain.” Admiral Callan replied as he returned a half assed salute. “After all you boy scouts love bending the rules a little because you are out there while we play dress up.”
“You sim-jockeys are only mad because it’s true.” Captain Asteios joked as he sat down next to the admiral. “For now at least.”
“Indeed…” Admiral Callan replied and stared at the park that expanded in front of them for a few moments. “I still remember how everyone who knows you cried out ‘bullshit’ when the news of
Matveyev’s early return and your arrest for gross neglect reached headquarters.”
“The fact is that I did allow that stupid contest where marines and sailors would race each other to see who could carry full shuttle fuel cells from the shuttle bay to engineering the fastest. I didn’t think that they would actually drop them while doing so and that they would both explode as a consequence.” Captain Asteios replied.
“Yes, the fact...” Admiral Callan replied with a laugh before getting serious again. “We can speak freely, no one is eavesdropping.”
“Any news about
Utsumi?”
“No, the Loroi claim that they don’t know anything about them so we have to assume that they either mis-jumped or they were also attacked by the bugs and self-destructed to avoid capture.” The admiral replied.
“Two out of four lost…” Captain Asteios commented with a sign.
“We would have lost all four and the tanker if someone hadn’t worked their magic.” The admiral pointed out.
“I knew many of them personally; hell I invited many of them at the baptism of my youngest son.”
“Don’t think that the fleet took their loss lightly captain.” The admiral growled. “I understand how closely knit the scouts are but we are all out there in the black.”
“Aren’t we all…” Captain Asteios replied as he leaned back to look at the bright blue sky.
“Have you read the package I sent you?” The admiral asked after a few moments of silence.
“How many ‘bullshits’ did the brass cry out when they read all that?”
“You can still hear the echo in Hellas Landing.” The admiral joked.
“I can relate to that.”
“So what do you think?” Admiral Callan insisted.
“Think about what? About the cocky ensign or the insane plan the Loroi propose?”
“Both.”
“Figures; why would an admiral come here for if not that?”
“I am not here; I am at the hospital getting a thorough physical.” The admiral joked again.
“Is that so?” Captain Asteios replied and gathered his thoughts before continuing. “I had advised Hamilton not to take raw graduates with him; I told him to take crew that was a known quality instead of greenhorns who didn’t know how it was to be completely alone out there. He argued that he wanted some fresh perspective with him in case he and the old guard missed the obvious. I then reminded him that the Earth is not flat; he always hated that joke about his ship.”
“I thought that he picked them up in order to piss the fleet off.” Admiral Callan commented.
“He told us about that but he would never pick someone to be on his ship if he didn’t believe that they would be of use. He saw in Jardin something that he wanted so he took him aboard Bellarmine.” Captain Asteios replied.
“And it paid off, unless the Loroi are bullshitting us.”
“It is not their style, if they say that Alexander Jardin provided such a great service to them then it’s probably true.” Captain Asteios pointed out.
“Why would the Loroi even bother listening to an alien they suspected from day one, in such sensitive military matters?” The admiral insisted.
“They would have their reasons; desperation probably played a part since they were certainly in a situation in which grasping at straws was a viable strategy. However I have a feeling that internal politics and luck played a huge part in everything, without farsense and the bugs having broken through their lines it would be utter chaos for their very politicized admiralty. They needed a way out and as an outsider ensign Jardin must have had the clear mind to look at the situation calmly and point out the obvious to those who would listen.” Captain Asteios replied.
“Someone important must have listened.”
“Or someone who has the ear of someone important.” Captain Asteios added.
“True and then there is the whole diplomatic thing with the Historians.”
“Torimor Tigomenial said that they knew very little about the Historians. She said that they were allies and that they did provide valuable technology to the Loroi but neither side truly trusted each other. I don’t know what Jardin did but if the Loroi say that his help was crucial in that front then it’s probably the truth.” Captain Asteios replied.
“What was it like having so many good looking elves on your ship for three weeks?”
“Interesting to say the least.” The captain replied.
“Some called you an idiot for doing that you know.”
“Yes I have heard it all from my other visitors, ‘too risky and with no guarantee that they would let us go after dropping them off’.”
“The reports said that they were very impressed with certain cultural products and parts of our history.” The admiral added.
“They liked the Lord of the Rings; Tigomenial said that it reminded them of their own epic legends. They ate up all of the Kurosawa films about Samurai and they were very perplexed when we explained to them that although the stories were realistic, they were still fiction.” The captain replied.
“The way I understand it is that most of their ‘movies’ are documentaries with very little fiction in them.” Admiral Callan commented.
“That’s my understanding as well. After that they were really impressed with our ‘industrial total wars’ as they described them. They described the American civil war as a brawl between amateurs that would have ended far sooner if proper warriors were put in charge, they were nevertheless impressed by the logistics and technology involved. The head turners were the two world wars. They explained that many species had such wars but the combination of early adoption of technology for military use, the industrial scale and the massive battles were unprecedented for such tech levels. The face Tigomenial made when she learned when those wars happened was priceless as well.” The captain continued.
“How old is she again? 262?” Admiral Callan asked.
“Yes, if I remember correctly. She admitted that it was rare for warriors to live that long because of their lifestyle.”
“And she still looks like she is in her late twenties and good late twenties at that.” The admiral commented.
“They naturally live up to 400 looking mostly like that. They do get slightly taller and have longer ears as time passes but otherwise they outwardly stay the same for most of that.”
“Our longevity treatment clinics need to get their heads straight.” The admiral thought out loud.
“I am not complaining, I am almost 70 and I still look like I am in my late 30s.” Captain Asteios commented.
“You are lucky; some are stuck in their 50s.”
“I can see that.” The captain joked, drawing a smirk from the admiral.
“In any case, I take it that she was very impressed with how quickly we progressed technologically.” Admiral Callan continued.
“She and the Listel.”
“Figures, if they had waited a hundred years or so we would probably be able to tell the both of them to fuck off but now…” The admiral sighed at that. “Now we have their insane proposal on the table.”
“I want to ask ensign Jardin if he helped them draft it.” Captain Asteios said at that.
“You and me both. What’s your take on it?”
“They do offer a lot in exchange, that’s for certain.”
“The problem is what they want us to do for them.”
“Knowing that I will spend even more time in prison if it goes ahead, I will admit that the plan is insane enough to work.” Captain Asteios replied.
“Will the bugs fall for it though?”
“They must be desperate ever since their breakthrough was foiled. They need a win to turn that defeat into a war winning advantage.” The captain said out loud.
“True… can we trust the Loroi to keep their end of the bargain though? Or will they hang us out to dry and have two problems solved at the same time?” The admiral asked.
“And that is the question to trump all questions.” Captain Asteios said with a sigh.
“We do have an ace up our sleeve thanks to what you brought back but that’s something that will only work once.” Admiral Callan added.
“The truth of the matter is that the bugs will attack us sooner or later and I believe that we can reason with the Loroi after everything is said and done. If high command wants my advice on the matter, ask to have some insurance provided by their government and see what they offer in turn. They know that we are putting everything on the line and I want to see what they have to lose in case the whole thing goes belly up.”
“That’s what a lot of people have advised…” Admiral Callan said with a sigh and stood up. “I will pass on your recommendation.” He offered his hand at that.
“Thank you for your visit sir.” Captain Asteios said as they shook hands.
“Before I leave, some people have asked if we should start making the names of the systems you explored permanent.”
“I think that we should touch that subject after the world is saved.”
Chapter 20, part 2:
http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 082#p23082